


Routine

by Pepper (SpencerLannister)



Category: Jessica Jones (TV)
Genre: Autism Acceptance Month 2018, Autism Awareness Month 2018, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Jessica Jones, Depression, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14366892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpencerLannister/pseuds/Pepper
Summary: Jessica tries to get out of bed. Set after Season 2. Written on April 19 for the 2018 Autistic Creative Challenge.





	Routine

**Author's Note:**

> I saw today's Autistic Creative Challenge topic and thought about how Jessica must be feeling about work in the Season 2 aftermath. To put it simple, I think of Jessica as a character who could very well have Asperger's syndrome (now called Autism Spectrum Disorder). This 5-minute fic is written from that interpretation of her character.

Jessica could see the sun peeking at her through the blinds.

 

She scavenged for reasons to get out of bed, but came up short. It was a weekday, she knew that much. _Work leads to money. Can't drink without money_ , she reminded herself.

 

Jessica groaned. It was going to be all right. Soon Malcolm would come in with an energy drink and-

 

Then the realization dawned on her. Malcolm was not coming. Malcolm had quit.

 

Her thoughts spun around in her head like the ferris wheel at Playland, where she had her last conversation with her mother...

 

 _No_. Jessica felt her chest tighten. This was not how it was supposed to be. Malcolm was supposed to come in, hand her an energy drink, and then the customers would come in, and she would sip on the energy drink while they cried about their husband's infidelity or warned her about government conspiracies. He would give his opinion on what cases they should take, she would disagree with him 70% of the time since he always accepted those emotional clients she was trying to steer clear of, and then she would take on whatever case she was in the mood for.

 

She pulled the blanket over her head. Part of her felt as if perhaps if she waited long enough, Malcolm would show up after all by some miracle... _Get real_ , she told herself. _He is not coming back. He is running errands for that smug Pryce Cheng instead_. She felt her blood boil just thinking about him, and instantly regretted throwing her anger management-ball out of the window. While Pryce had not _stolen_ Malcolm per se – if anything, Jessica herself had pushed him away – he did steal clients from her, which must have in turn played a part in Malcolm selecting _him_ of all people to be his next employer...

 

Jessica pursed her lips. _Focus. Malcolm isn't here. Who gives me the energy drink?_

 

She briefly considered calling Oscar. He was just down the hall after all. Then she realized she didn't know his number. They never phoned each other, since, well, they living in the same building has its perks. She _could_ knock on his door and ask him to get her the energy drinks, but that would require standing up, and be a lot more complicated than just...

 

 _Getting up and getting the energy drink myself_.

 

It wouldn't be easy. Then again, revamping a routine never was. Jessica tried to plan it all out in her head. If she got up by herself, walked to the refrigerator, and grabbed the energy drink, she could do her job as usual. Reluctantly, she moved both legs to the side, and sat straight up. The blood rushed through her, and for a moment she felt as if she was going to pass out. Luckily she had fewer hard-drinking nights since Oscar and Vido became a part of her life. A hangover on top of the broken routine would have been too much to deal with. She managed to stand up albeit dizzy. “Great,” she mumbled to herself, as she begun to make her way to the kitchen.

 

The floor was cold as ice. It was not until she had already opened the fridge that she realized she had forgotten socks. _Shit_. _Malcolm would have remembered that_. She paused. “Malcolm is not here,” she said out loud as if to try to affirm reality to herself as she went back to her bedroom to find the socks. For a moment, she wanted to give up her attempts at re-establishing her routine and just sink into bed. She sighed as she picked up the blanket. Both socks had been in bed the whole time. She put them on and walked back into the kitchen, grabbing an energy drink out of the fridge she had left open. _I should have brushed my teeth_ , she realized, but decided to ignore it today. What was the point when the drink was going to mess up her teeth directly after anyway?

 

 _It's fine_ , she thought to herself. _I'm fine. I can do this new routine thing._ She looked at her desk to try to find the ball, then remembered she had thrown it out the window. _Damn it_.

 

There was a knock on the door. Jessica sighed. Time to deal with clients.


End file.
